


Let Them Hear You

by Anonymous



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Declarations Of Love, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Flashbacks, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Bond Shenanigans, Governmental Reform, Happy Ending, Luke Skywalker bashing, Millicent the cat - Freeform, Nerdy Ben Solo, POV Kylo Ren, POV Rey (Star Wars), Reylo - Freeform, Sextember, Smut, Sort Of, canonverse, ultimatum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:22:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: During the four months Rey spent on Crait, the Force connected her to Kylo Ren almost every day. She thought she knew the real him, the Ben Solo underneath the mask. Yet now Snoke is dead and Ben Solo is nowhere to be found. What will it take to convince him to be the man she knows he is on the inside?





	Let Them Hear You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [27vampyresinhermind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/27vampyresinhermind/gifts).



> This fic is part of the Swolo House Sextember Fic Exchange, for 27vampyresinhermind!
> 
> Many thanks to [Hosnianprime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hosnianprime/profile) for being the best beta ever!
> 
> Prompt: “Let them hear you.” Requirements are smut and HEA

Rey crept towards consciousness, only aware of her splitting headache. At least until the pungent odor of death engulfed her, more successful than any smelling salts. She was sprawled on the floor of Snoke’s throne room. Or perhaps it was Kylo Ren’s now.

She cursed as she stood up, checking her body for damage. (Nothing too serious. Only the cut on her arm from the praetorian guards.) She thought they had some kind of understanding. During her four months on Ahch-To nary a day went by when she didn’t see him through the Force. They had become… close. And he threw it all away! For what? Revenge on his mother? She knew he meant it when he said he wanted to start something new. A Constitutional Meritocratic Elective Monarchy he called it. Yet he was too blind to see the value of the people on those transports.

She glanced at his prone form while collecting the pieces of her broken lightsaber. He was still breathing, for which she was grateful even if he wasn’t the man she thought she knew. Deciding to leave broke her heart enough as it was, she didn’t think she’d be able to cope if he was dead. She didn’t know how long he would be out but hoped she would be long gone by the time he came to. If he wouldn’t save her friends, she would just have to do it herself.

* * *

 

> It had been about two weeks since the Force had first connected them and he’d seen her almost every day since. The longest stretch had been around 42 hours. Not that he was counting. Their first two encounters had not gone well, to put it lightly. The third time they were both training, which provided an opportunity for them to get some of their frustrations out. What Rey didn’t realize at the time was that it also starting building an imperceptible amount of comradery between them. This couldn’t please Kylo more.
> 
> He had been fascinated with her from the very start. Something about her called to him, making him want to prove he was more than just his monstrous persona. Unlike Hux he wasn’t a First Order fanboy, it was just better than the alternative. Rey herself was an example of the Republic’s failings. If he had his way, slavery would be abolished galaxy wide. Children in the poorer regions wouldn’t starve so that others like him could feast. The dark side wasn’t all murderous rage; it was also compassion, felt deeper than any Jedi could attest to. It was the need for action.
> 
> Every time he saw her, he gave her little tips. She still needed a teacher since Luke either refused or couldn’t provide the instruction she needed to grow. It helped that she didn’t have an innate bias against dark side techniques. Rey didn’t trust him at first, but oh she was an inquisitive one. She couldn’t stop herself from experimenting with whatever tools were available. After confirming his information actually helped and wasn’t designed to lead her astray, she began to acquiesce. Even if she didn’t like him quite yet, she at least put up with his presence.
> 
> The time they spent connected grew longer each occasion as if their bond was strengthening. After hours of research he felt confident calling it that - a Force bond - at least to himself. Their connection lasted about half an hour now which was long enough to get to know each other a little better.
> 
> He was walking down a hallway when she appeared, lying in the middle of the floor with her legs and arms extended all around her. He stuttered to a halt and glanced around for prying eyes. So many in the Order already thought him nuts; he didn’t want to make that worse by having a conversation with someone invisible. Clearing his throat as he walked past, he hoped she would take the hint and follow him.
> 
> Rey huffed but got up anyway. With a raised eyebrow she asked, “why did you make me get up just so we could walk three meters?”
> 
> He chuckled and sat down with his back against a wall. “You were in the middle of a hallway, so I moved us into an empty office. But please, continue making snow angels.” With a sweeping motion he gestured towards the floor.
> 
> She rolled her eyes but laid back down perpendicular to where he sat. “Don’t be ridiculous, why would I be laying in the snow?” She closed her eyes and a look of contentment graced her features. Kylo could almost feel the heat radiating off her skin. If only he was there with her instead of a ship in cold sterile space. He contemplated shifting down beside her, imagining a blue sky above but thought better of it.
> 
> He sighed. There was something he wanted to talk to her about but feared it wouldn’t go well. Now was as good a time as any since they were both otherwise unoccupied. “Rey…?”
> 
> She _hmm’d_ at his tentative question, not opening her eyes.
> 
> “What do you know about the New Republic?”
> 
> She looked at him now, but a callous on his hand had garnered all his attention. “I know enough. That it’s better than your alternative of oppressive tyranny.” There was a familiar bite to her voice that she used whenever feeling underestimated.
> 
> “It’s not _my_ alternative! I’m just an instrument for them to use, you know that. I don’t get to make policy decisions.” He felt bitterness tinge his words. “But something had to change. You see us as oppressive tyranny but I saw the New Republic spend more time on petty politics than ending poverty in the Outer Rim. It’s my mother’s government that was responsible every time you didn’t have enough to eat.”
> 
> As he finished speaking he looked up to find her watching him, a probing look on her face. She had sat up on one elbow, facing his direction. He was a problem she couldn’t quite solve. “You said it wasn’t your alternative. What did you mean by that?”
> 
> Somehow she knew how to get right to the quick of him. Running a hand through his hair, he explained. The galaxy needed a firm hand. Without a centralized power structure it was impossible for anything to change. The rich would keep getting richer while the poor got poorer. Cartels would spring up and people like his grandfather would be subjected to a life of slavery.
> 
> His grandmother had been elected queen once and was supported by a council of ministers. There were both pros and cons to Naboo’s term limit policy, but that could be worked out with time. It was probably best to start with rulers who would be around long term. Neither politicians like his mother nor military leaders like Hux had the skills necessary to solve the galaxy’s problems. Instead he would form an advisory body of those at the top of their fields. Engineers, doctors, economists, historians… leaders of any industry that could help the galaxy prosper. They would have a voice and come up with recommendations, but ultimately it would be on the monarch to carry them through.
> 
> His passion and the thoughtfulness shown in his statements clearly enraptured her. By the time she disappeared Kylo had ended up on the floor next to her. Progress.

* * *

Coming into view of the mining facility where the Resistance were making their last stand, the first thing Rey noticed were the red lines marring the planet’s surface like crisscrossing scars. At the end of each scar was a pilot trying to out maneuver at least one TIE fighter in a rust bucket with a monoski. Three TIEs lined up behind one, not knowing she herself was coming up on their rear. One shot and they all went down, then it was on to the next. She could practically feel the Resistance’s spirits rise upon seeing Han’s old ship. Before she had been the pilot, but with Chewie (and his porg companion) at the helm she could take out some of her frustration on enemy ships. It was a different use of her reflexes than she was used to and came with its own kind of rush as she shot each fighter out of the sky.

As much as the Resistance viewed the Millennium Falcon as a beacon of hope, she knew Kylo Ren saw it as a reminder that everything had been more important to his family than him. It was no surprise then when the TIEs peeled off from the main fight to concentrate on it exclusively. That’s just what she was hoping for. Chewie led them into a canyon, knowing they had no chance of surviving both the terrain and Rey’s blaster cannon.

Chewie let out a howl as they came back around. Rushing into the cockpit she saw that the rust buckets were nowhere to be seen and there was now a gaping hole in the mine’s blast door. Red dust was obscuring the middle of the battlefield where the First Order had been shooting at… something. The wind shifted and she could just make out the figure of _Luke Skywalker_? How was that possible? Now the command shuttle was landing so that Kylo could disembark.

Oh no. This would _not_ be good. “Chewie, I have to stop him!” she blurted, not knowing to which him she was referring. “Bring me between them, low to the ground!” Then she was rushing out again to lower the boarding ramp. Kylo ignited his lightsaber just as the Falcon came into range. With a practiced ease born from her years scavenging cavernous star destroyers, Rey jumped off the ramp and landed with a roll at Luke’s feet.

Both men were in shock. “Rey!” they shouted in unison, before glaring at each other. “Don’t talk to her!”

Glaring at them both she stood up and wiped the dust from her hands onto her leggings and moved to address Luke. She wasn’t a find out in the Starship Graveyard that they could claim, she could talk to whoever she wanted. Kylo seethed in the distance but didn’t stop her. “I’ve got this, so just go back inside. He’s not your problem anymore.” Before she could see if he listened, Rey turned back around and set a course straight for Kylo.

Luke was shocked. “You don’t understand an inkling of what I’m sacrificing by being here!” When she didn’t respond he wandered back towards the base, wondering what to do now. He could feel the projection draining his body back on Ahch-To. The remaining Resistance members were slack-jawed as he ambled past them and down the side corridor only to disappear back whence he came.

Over on the salt flats, Kylo eyed her warily. “Rey.”

“Kylo.” Her tone matched his.

“So I’m not Ben anymore, huh?” His attempt at a smirk failed since she could see the pain in his eyes. No wonder he had favored a mask.

Her vision narrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “You tell me. Are you the man who I’ve gotten to know through the Force? Or the man who just tried to kill me and all of my friends?”

“Kill…? What? Kill you? I wouldn’t, I’d never…” His feet moved him even closer to her, until she had to look up to maintain eye contact.

“Who do you think was in the Falcon, Nerf Herder?”

His face blanched. “I didn’t know. I didn’t, I wasn’t thinking. You have to believe me, I never want to hurt you.”

He had that look in his eyes, from the throne room. Pleading. Rey felt herself softening towards him, but strengthened her resolve.

“Do you have any idea what hurts me? When. You. Try. To. Murder. All. My. Friends!” She punctuated each word with a finger jabbed into his chest.

He turned to pace, moving back from her a tad. “So what? I was just supposed to let them go? Let them regroup so they can kill me next week? Why do you think my uncle was here? To finish what he started. That’s their kriffing mission statement, Rey!”

“You said you wanted to create something new! If you had let them go, it would’ve given us time to come up with a more concrete plan. I could explain things to them. Your vision. And maybe no one else would have to die.”

“Us?” His pacing stopped. “You said us. Give _us_ time.”

“I may not have experience ruling the galaxy, but I am good at fixing things.” She seemed offended that he didn’t think she could help strategize.

“Oh no, sweetheart of course you are,” he raised a hand, wanting to cup her face, but stopped himself. He knew everyone was watching, he just hoped they couldn’t hear. The familiar sobriquet had slipped out due to habit. “I meant, you would have stayed? If I called off the attack you wouldn’t have left me? There would be an us?” He hated the vulnerability in his voice, but he had to know.

“Of course I would have stayed! Gods, you’re such an idiot. I’ve spent the last four months thinking this was just some pipe dream of yours. Then it actually happens and you’re too blinded by hatred to see it!”

Kylo looked taken aback. He opened his mouth then closed it again, unsure of what to say. “You think that could actually work?”

“Would I have come to you if I didn’t? It certainly wasn’t because I love being tortured.”

He grimaced at the reminder, running a gloved hand through his stupidly perfect hair. “I never thought you would… You’re right, the CMEM was a pipe dream. When the Force connected us, I only told you to show you I wasn’t like them. A Monster. I needed to prove to you, and to myself, that I was more than just an instrument of the Order. Then you show up and I panicked. I had to take you to him, you know that right? And then he’s dead because _he was hurting you_ and I panicked. I’ve never had anyone believe in me before. All I could see was everything crumbling unless I had you there with me.”

“You do have me! Or you would if you didn’t make our love even more complicated than it is already.” She saw his eyes widen as she spoke The L Word, making her question the assumption she had taken for truth. “Do you love me?”

“I… yes, absolutely!” The question caught him off guard. During their Force connections they hadn’t discussed it, but she was everything to him. One day he’d kissed her, unable to stop himself, and when she didn’t push him away, he felt like his soul was on fire. Things had escalated after that, but stuck in the confines of the Force it never felt quite real. Like a dream they were both experiencing but would end too soon.

“Good. I love you too. Now that we’ve cleared that up, can you call off your attack dogs?” She gestured up at the might of the First Order, who were currently thoroughly confused about what was happening. They hadn’t interfered yet, but it was only a matter of time. They couldn’t stand out here arguing all day.

His eyes grew intense, staring with laser precision into her soul. He walked closer to her, stooping so his face would be at a similar height to hers. He would have knelt before her if the action wasn’t laced with symbolism they weren’t ready for. If he thought he could get away with it without someone from his side putting a blaster through his brain. He was sure Hux had already started planning a coup. “Say that again. Say it. Louder. Let them hear you. The First Order, the Resistance, everyone. We’ll make an announcement on the Holonet. My ascension, my vision, our - whatever…” He waved a hand widely, unsure what to call what was between them. “Let them hear you say you love me, that you’re mine, and I’m yours.”

She breathed out his name, Ben this time, and a smile quirked at the corner of his lips.

“If I do this, you’ll let them go?” she asked, her voice filled with hope.

A pained expression crossed his face, misinterpreting her intention. “Yes. But only if you truly mean it. I can’t have _Dameron_ or the traitor trying to rescue you once we go back to my ship. Our ship.”

Her eyes lit up. She wanted to throw her arms around him. To kiss him, like she had so many times before. Maybe if she did they wouldn’t even need to announce anything through the holonet? But that could wait. She was awfully good at waiting, possibly even better than she was at fixing things. So she nodded and said, “okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know, where is the smut?!?! It is coming I promise! And so are they if you know what I mean...


End file.
